2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer vs 2022 Land Rover Defender

Given the brand’s war-fighting origins, the idea of a luxury Jeep seems a bit oxymoronic. But premium SUVs that combine off-road capability with comfort and opulence are fairly common these days, and Jeep wants in on the action.

Resurrecting a name that dates back to 1984, the 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer is the automaker’s answer to the Cadillac Escalade, Infiniti QX80, and Lincoln Navigator. Like these rivals, the Wagoneer is a body-on-frame full-size SUV based on a more mainstream model. In this case, that’s the 2022 Wagoneer, which is also new for this model year (and is covered in a separate review).

Jeep considers the Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer to be components of a new sub-brand, sitting atop the rest of its lineup. In addition to the Wagoneer name and a basic platform, both models share exterior and interior styling and many tech features. So there’s less to differentiate a Grand Wagoneer from a Wagoneer than, say, a Lincoln Navigator from a Ford Expedition. The relationship might be more like that of the GMC Yukon to the Chevrolet Tahoe.

To see if the Grand Wagoneer justifies its “grand” nomenclature, we drove it back to back with a standard Wagoneer, navigating city streets and off-road trails. The Grand Wagoneer launches in Series I, Series II, Series III, and Obsidian trim levels. Our test vehicle was the midlevel Series II version.

Over seven decades in the car business, Land Rover has shifted from making utilitarian vehicles prized by farmers, explorers, and soldiers to making luxury vehicles prized by wealthy suburbanites. The 2022 Land Rover Defender aims to bridge the gap between Land Rover’s past and present.

As other Land Rover models got more luxurious, the original Defender carried on as a rugged, basic off-roader. While Land Rover stopped selling the old school Defender in North America during the 1990s, it remained in production for other markets until 2016. By that time, Land Rover was already planning a clean-sheet redesign that brought the Defender back to North America for the 2020 model year.

The new Land Rover Defender contrasts the automaker’s other models, like the Discovery and Range Rover, with an emphasis on ruggedness. It’s still bigger and cushier than the original Defender, but less fancy than its sibling models. And like the original Defender, the new model is available in two-door 90 and four-door 110 body styles. A three-row, eight-seat Land Rover Defender 130 body style is also on the way for the 2023 model year.

Meanwhile, changes for the 2022 model year include a new optional 11.4-inch touchscreen, standard wireless phone charging, and an expansion of trim levels. The Defender 90 gets a new X-Dynamic SE trim, and a new V8 powertrain option debuts for both the 90 and Defender 110. Shared with other Jaguar Land Rover products, the supercharged 5.0-litre V8 provides a serious boost in performance. We sampled it in a Defender 90 for this review.